As soon as Zhou Chiye walked over, he saw Ji Zhaoxi looking like she'd been bullied.
It irritated him.
Ji Zhaoxi was thinking seriously. Ever since word of her business got out, it seemed like a few people had started copying her.
She knew exactly which classes those imitators were in.
Every time, she'd badmouth those copycats to her clients, attacking their professional skills.
But why were her clients still going to them…
"If you can't figure it out, stop thinking about it." A voice suddenly sounded beside her, impatient.
Ji Zhaoxi looked up, only to have her arms filled with things.
Zhou Chiye stared at her, his brows tightly furrowed. "You're with me now, what's there to be afraid of? Don't you know how to fight back?"
Ji Zhaoxi hesitated. "But I'm not sure it's them yet, Ye Ge."
Zhou Chiye let out a cold laugh. "By the time you're sure, your anger will have already faded."
Ji Zhaoxi fell silent. No wonder Zhou Chiye was the boss—he really knew how to read people.
"See if you like it." Zhou Chiye lowered his head, his tone stiff.
Ji Zhaoxi looked at the things in her arms and smiled at Zhou Chiye. "Thanks, Ye Ge."
Zhou Chiye stared at her for a long time in silence, until the smile on Ji Zhaoxi's face froze.
"You don't actually like it, do you?"
Ji Zhaoxi quickly spoke up. "I do like it."
If someone gave her something, of course she liked it.
Zhou Chiye sneered. "But your eyes didn't light up."
The first time he gave her the money from that accident setup, her eyes lit up.
The last time he transferred money to her, her eyes lit up.
This time she said she was happy, but her eyes didn't light up.
Ji Zhaoxi thought about it seriously for a moment. She turned around, facing the sunlight, which fell into her eyes, making them seem clear and bright.
"Ye Ge, my eyes are lit now." Ji Zhaoxi showed Zhou Chiye a faint smile.
Zhou Chiye: …
That wasn't the kind of "lit" he meant…
He pulled out his phone, tapped on it a few times, and looked at her. "Check your phone."
Ji Zhaoxi quickly took out her phone, her eyes filled with surprise. "Thanks, Ye Ge!"
Zhou Chiye nodded in satisfaction. This was what he meant by eyes lighting up.
"Ye Ge, you're so nice."
Zhou Chiye's expression stiffened. He clicked his tongue. "Don't say such ambiguous things to me."
Ji Zhaoxi was silent for a moment, then nodded.
Was that really considered ambiguous?
Then she must have hundreds of "ambiguous partners" at school.
Ji Zhaoxi also ran a tutoring business at school.
Every day, she tutored one person after another, moving from one to the next.
She didn't actually love studying that much, but being good at it did help her earn quite a bit of money.
There were also people who liked Ji Zhaoxi who came to her under the pretense of doing business.
"I'll start with English for you." Ji Zhaoxi said professionally.
The boy blushed. "You can teach me anything."
Ji Zhaoxi nodded. "Alright, let me go over this problem. Actually, the answer is hidden in the second paragraph of the passage…"
The boy coughed lightly. "Ji Zhaoxi, do you have a boyfriend?"
Ji Zhaoxi looked at him curiously. "You want my boyfriend to help tutor you too?"
If the price was right, she could reluctantly ask Ji Huaichuan to pretend to be her boyfriend.
The boy quickly shook his head. "No, no, I was just asking."
Ji Zhaoxi responded with an "oh" and continued. "Alright, let's look at the stem of this question. The entire stem appears in the second paragraph, just with a synonym used. You might not know it."
The boy whispered, "Ji Zhaoxi, I like you."
Ji Zhaoxi said seriously, "Even though this word isn't in the syllabus, we've encountered it three times in previous exams. You should memorize it."
She carefully circled the word.
The boy was so nervous his voice trembled. "Ji Zhaoxi, can I be your boyfriend?"
He had noticed her the moment he enrolled. She seemed easygoing and gentle, always looking at people with a soft smile.
So Ji Zhaoxi, what was her answer?
The boy finally gathered the courage to look at her.
Ji Zhaoxi flipped through his test paper, her frown deepening. "Classmate, your foundation is really weak."
She looked at him earnestly. "It might cost extra."
The boy's expression almost cracked. "Ji Zhaoxi, I said I like you."
At this point, all eyes in the classroom turned to them.
Ji Zhaoxi was silent for a moment, then looked up. "Even if you like me, you still have to pay extra."
She confessed to liking the supermarket owner at school, but that didn't mean she didn't have to pay for her groceries.
There was no such logic in the world.
The boy's face turned red with anger. He grabbed his test paper and stormed off.
As he left, he threw out one last line: "No guy will ever like a girl who's always talking about money!"
Ji Zhaoxi said nothing, but seriously typed a message in her customer group.
[@everyone: No one is allowed to have any improper thoughts about the group owner! The group owner only has business relationships with everyone.]
The group was silent for a moment.
[You sent that to the wrong group, Ji Zhaoxi. I remember this group is full of people who hate you. Are you having delusions again? It's been a while since we yelled at you. Hurry up and come to Class 7! Right now! Immediately! [attached transfer record]]
[Ji Zhaoxi, why are you talking to the class monitor again? Want to get yelled at, huh? After you're done getting yelled at above, come find me ASAP!]
[Please don't send messages in the group except for membership fees, so as not to affect the members' mood!]
Ji Zhaoxi fumbled to close the group chat.
She meant to post in the tutoring group, but accidentally posted in the "get yelled at" group.
Still, seeing how lively the group was, Ji Zhaoxi felt a bit proud. Being hated by so many people wasn't something just anyone could achieve.
She screenshotted the "get yelled at" group and sent it to Ji Huaichuan.
[Business is so busy [grinning emoji] [grinning emoji]]
Ji Huaichuan: …
In another classroom building, Ji Huaichuan saw that Ji Zhaoxi's "get yelled at" group had gained a few more members, and his eyes turned red with jealousy.
He grabbed his deskmate by the collar and shook him hard. "Please, yell at me! Give me money! I'll let you yell at me all you want!"
The surrounding eyes all turned to him. Ji Huaichuan silently sat back down in his seat.
His deskmate tied up her hair and smiled at him. "If you want to be yelled at, just say so. Bringing money into it ruins the fun."
For someone as annoying as Ji Huaichuan, if he stood in the middle of the world and asked people to yell at him, she believed everyone in the world would rush over to do it. They wouldn't walk—they'd run, afraid they'd be too late to get their yell in.
They might even throw a few punches.
The swimming pool was huge, enclosed by floor-to-ceiling glass walls. The temperature-controlled water was flawless, and sunlight slanted down, scattering across the white marble at the bottom.
Ji Zhaoxi obediently sat in her usual spot, waiting for Zhou Chiye to come up.
Because he wanted to check her account balance to see if there was any improper income.
Suddenly, the sound of water breaking came from the pool. Zhou Chiye was swimming. Every time he stretched his arms, the lines of his back rose and fell in the refracted light.
He was the only one swimming in the entire pool, while the other boys sat on the side, playing games boisterously.
